Ryleen stared up at the ceiling from where she was lying in her bed. She could hardly feel the pain from her wounds. All she felt was weariness. Like her energy had been drained from her very bones. But still she could not sleep. She thought back at what had happened. She had been talking to Vypra and Hinun... They were about to leave, they had been told the keep was under attack, that it wasn't safe. There had been a cry in a strange language and she had just had enough time to say "That didn't sound like an orc..", and then they were upon them.

She had thrown up a protective shield, old reflexes kicking in more than a concious thought. Then they were all around her. Instinctively, she created a shell of ice around herself, hoping to get a second to breathe and think. She saw Vypra fall, and then Hinun. All around where the night elves, and not a Warsong in sight. As the shield cracked and fell, she had tried to flee. To meld with the nether in a half-teleport and rend herself invisible.. But as she uttered the words of the spell, she was interrupted by a sharp pain, a stab in the back of her right shoulder. And one more. And yet one more.

She wasn't used to pain anymore. Not this kind of pain. She could hardly remember the last time she had been forced to fight for her life. She fell. It hurt so much, she couldn't focus enough to cast a single spell.

She used to be able to do that, didn't she? She recalled blasting Tivak in the face with fire, while he was in the process of nailing her body to the ground. Defiant to the very end. That's what she used to be. And now this little made her loose her focus and fall? She really had weakened.

Then there was the gentle, warm feeling of shaman magic. For a second, she thought he was there. That he had come back. To save her. Like he had always done in the past. But the face that greeted her was that of Alpha Nazrug, the orc looking nothing like the one she had hoped it would be.

There was talk around her, but she missed much of it, trying to pretend she didn't hurt. She knew the orcs would think her weak and pathetic if she complained. Better not let them see. People left. To defend, to fight back the elves. And suddenly she realised that she had to follow them, to help out. That she wouldn't leave with Hinun, but instead put on her armour and ride out with them, like Vypra.

She frowned as she tried to recollect the details of the following battle, turning over in her bed to look out on the moon over the harbour. She recalled Astranaar. The elves. The delirious feeling of magic rushing through her blood. The joy of the spells, the heat of the magic flames. The rush and sense of control. The power.

...The screams as they fell to her spells....

How many had she killed? How many had she helped kill by binding their limbs with arcane force, slowing them down and allowing the orcs to hack them to pieces? How much of the blood on the ground was there because of her actions? In sudden horror, she groaned and rolled up into a ball under the covers of her bed. What had she done? She wasn't supposed to do that... Just to learn. To master. Never to use. This was what happened then.

Not that anyone had minded... They did the same, although with different means. They didn't worry about the dead of the enemy, so why would she? But.. it was wrong. They were people too, weren't they? Had they deserved to die? All of them? Had she done the right thing?

The light of dawn was starting to show on the sky as she finally managed to fall asleep, out of pure exhaustion.

In such a harsh and violent world as Azeroth, it's interesting to have characters having problems with slaying those on the other side. The story was an interesting read. And I liked how you incorporated the lore you read about magic addiction in it.

Snicka wrote:In such a harsh and violent world as Azeroth, it's interesting to have characters having problems with slaying those on the other side. The story was an interesting read. And I liked how you incorporated the lore you read about magic addiction in it.

Ry has always had issues with the power magic gives her. From the very beginning I chose to give her the "dark side" that actually enjoys the feeling of power and to kill others with magic. But reading about the arcane has given me more reasons for this issue and I've been able to develope it more.

In the beginning, I still hadn't decided if she'd be nice or evil. It was all up to what people she'd meet. And she met very nice people, which developed her into the almost pacifistic person she was when she joined HoZ. I wonder what had happened if she'd met bad people instead?

The HoZ characters have all been defined by evolving RP. Both Ryleen and Lyranne were close to naive when they joined, and certainly very peaceful. Nowadays, Lyranne's lost so many people, and is torn about what she should do with her life, and Ryleen's changed as much - if not more.

Admittedly, with Lyranne's character, not only was it interaction with others, but also limitations wrought by misfortune in the timing of so many things. My real-life upheaval for one thing has certainly changed her, and I imagine it's also a part of that, even on a sub-conscious level, that makes most characters change.

Of developing personality, Snicka's one has changed a lot too - from a biased and hot-headed young troll he became a much more open-minded and a bit wiser.It's one of the things that makes RP fun: not knowing what will become of your character in the beginning, only after facing a lot of events you'll learn who your character is.

In the beginning, I still hadn't decided if she'd be nice or evil. It was all up to what people she'd meet. And she met very nice people, which developed her into the almost pacifistic person she was when she joined HoZ. I wonder what had happened if she'd met bad people instead?

Well that question Will soon be answered Now that Vajro is around.

PS: I think the evil smiley is the most used on the forum. We are all badass

Last edited by vajro on Sun Dec 05, 2010 7:59 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Quote system.)